As the convoy moved forward, Li Ming and the others gradually left the city behind. The road grew increasingly desolate, with cold and empty scenery stretching in all directions.
Li Ming glanced at the navigation—at their current speed, they would arrive before nightfall.
Yang Yang sat in the passenger seat, leaning against the window as she gazed at the view outside. She couldn’t help but sigh.
"Every time we pass through here, I’m reminded how much worse your Black Mountain Prison is compared to our Qingcheng Prison. It’s practically deep mountains and wild forests—utter wilderness. Even if a prisoner managed to escape, I doubt they’d survive long enough to reach civilization. It’s just too barren."
"It’s not so bad," Li Ming replied, one hand on the steering wheel as his eyes drifted toward the distant, desolate woods. "Prisons have to be built in remote places. And ours houses serious offenders—we have to be extra cautious."
"Boring. Staying in one place for too long dulls the mind! Not to mention, the risk of depression skyrockets. Definitely not my thing!" Yang Yang rolled up the window and reclined her seat, settling in more comfortably.
Li Ming chuckled. "By that logic, wouldn’t all the prisoners in jail be depressed?"
"Oh-ho! You’ve got a point there. But they don’t have a choice—we do!" Yang Yang turned slightly, her eyes lingering on Li Ming in his sharp uniform, looking undeniably handsome. A sudden flutter of attraction stirred in her chest…
She stole a glance at Wang Keyan, fast asleep in the back seat, curled up with her back turned toward Yang Yang, her body rising and falling gently with each breath.
After watching for a moment to confirm Wang Keyan was still deep in slumber, Yang Yang flashed a small smile at Li Ming…
"Hey—what are you doing? I’m driving here!"
Li Ming was both startled and nervous, silently impressed by her boldness. After all, not only was there someone in the back seat, but their vehicle was also being followed by others in the convoy!
"Keyan’s sound asleep. Just focus on the road—it’s rough enough without you swerving us into a ditch." Yang Yang ignored his protests.
Li Ming stole another guilty glance in the rearview mirror. Wang Keyan remained undisturbed, so he gave up and concentrated on driving.
He accelerated, and the convoy behind them followed suit, matching his speed.
Time passed…
Eventually, Li Ming rubbed his face, forcing himself to stay alert, and gradually slowed down again.
Thankfully, no one in the trailing vehicles seemed to notice anything unusual, and Wang Keyan inside the car remained asleep. Li Ming exhaled in relief, finally relaxing.
"We can’t do that again. Too risky," he muttered to Yang Yang, still shaken.
"Next time… who knows when the next time will be? Warden Li, you should focus on living in the moment!" Yang Yang shot him a satisfied look before leaning back and closing her eyes for a pretend nap.
The convoy pressed on. Still uneasy about what Yang Yang had just done, Li Ming slowly pulled over to the side of the road.
He stepped out and checked each of the three prisoner transport vehicles behind them, opening the doors one by one to inspect the inmates. Satisfied that everything was in order, he finally relaxed and resumed the journey.
Yang Yang watched his antics, barely suppressing her laughter.
"Hahaha, you really think everyone’s like you? They wouldn’t dare! If a prison guard laid a hand on an inmate, they’d be looking at jail time themselves! At most, they might sneak a few extra glances at the pretty ones—but that’s as far as it goes."
"Ahem! Just being cautious," Li Ming replied, his face flushing slightly. "This is my first prisoner transfer—I can’t afford any slip-ups. If I can’t handle something this basic, what kind of warden would I be?"
He thought of what Wang Xin, Wang Keyan’s mother, had done to him and quickly added an awkward explanation.
Yang Yang, however, assumed his reaction was just due to their earlier recklessness and didn’t dwell on it. The two continued chatting idly as the convoy drew closer to Black Mountain Prison.
Finally…
After navigating through dense woods and bumpy roads, they reached their destination.
Black Mountain Women’s Prison!
The convoy was stopped by the female guards on duty, and Li Ming and the others stepped out of their vehicles.
Recognizing Li Ming, the guards saluted.
"Warden! Welcome back!"
"Warden, Deputy Warden Lin will be here shortly."
"Mm. The prisoners being transferred are in the vehicles. Here’s the list and their files—check them, verify identities and headcount, then let the convoy through," Li Ming instructed calmly.
"Understood, Warden. Leave it to us. You’ve had a long journey—please go ahead and rest."
The guard took the files and saluted again.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
